Hollywood's trend of cannibalizing itself continues with an updated version of the 1984 Kevin Bacon-Lori Singer dance bonanza "Footloose." This time it's former "Dancing With the Stars" beauty Julianne Hough and newcomer Kenny Wormald who want to make a small Texas town footloose and fancy free.

In case you missed the original, "Footloose" looks at what happens to a small town when five high school students are killed in a traffic accident after a dance. City fathers ban drinking, loud music and dancing.

Ren (Wormald) rolls into town with big-city ideas about how it's unfair that he can't pop and lock whenever he wants. This sets up a battle between the determined teen and the town's crusading preacher (Dennis Quaid). To complicate matters, Ren falls for the preacher's daughter, Ariel (Hough), who's in full self-destruct mode.

Rick Bentley's one-minute review

The biggest gamble by director Craig Brewer -- other than tackling a remake of a pop culture classic -- was the casting of his two main leads based on their dance skills rather than acting abilities. Both Hough and Wormald have been dancing since they were toddlers, which makes all of the dance numbers pop. Between dance numbers, they seem a bit out of step.

Wormald's Boston accent comes and goes, and Hough needs more experience to convey a broad emotional range. But, oh, how they can dance.

The best acting comes from supporting players: Ray McKinnon, who plays Ren's understanding uncle, and Miles Teller, Ren's dance-challenged buddy.

Some scenes are nearly copies of the original, such as the big dance number finale. Even much of the music from the first movie has been given a modern spin as a way of looking back while moving forward. Dean Pitchford, who penned the original "Footloose," dusts the new script with winks and nods to the original.

The filmmakers were smart enough to use Kenny Loggins' "Footloose" song -- updated by Blake Shelton -- to set the tempo for the film.

Does the world need another "Footloose?" Probably not. But this version is just the right mix of nostalgic nods to the original and modern variations on the themes to make it fun. It won't have you dancing in your seat like the original, but it has enough energy to get your toes tapping.